Fremantle Women’s Health Centre is a not-for-profit community health centre for women of all ages and cultures living and working in the south-west metropolitan region. We provide treatment, prevention and health promotion services in the area of women's health, prioritising the needs of women most at risk of poor health. Services include medical, nursing, physiotherapy, counselling, group activities, health education and promotion activities, and an occasional crèche. Clinical services are provided by female-identifying health professionals.

Position Summary:

The Senior Counsellor is responsible for providing efficient and high-quality general and perinatal mental health counselling services at the Fremantle Women’s Health Centre. This includes individual assessments, supportive and therapeutic counselling, case management and therapeutic/educational group work. The position operates within a multidisciplinary team at the Centre.

Duties of the position:

Service Provision

Provide telephone triage for women referred to the counselling service at the Centre.

Maintain contact with women on the waitlist for appointments.

Undertake individual assessments and develop, in collaboration with clients, individual plans that are person centred, holistic, support recovery and social inclusion.

Deliver one-to-one counselling services, face-to-face and by phone, designed to achieve positive outcomes for clients.

Provide information and counselling to partners of women referred, as appropriate.

Ensure timely follow-up for all the Centre counselling clients in consultation with other counselling staff and Clinical Supervisor.

Provide information to and referral for clients, as required.

Prepare and maintain clinical notes and ensure that client data remains confidential and is securely stored and managed.

Provide reports to referring health professionals as appropriate.

Maintain a high level of professional standards at all times.

Consult with other community health professionals as required.

Facilitate education, information and support/therapeutic groups based on client needs.

Provide case study, collate data and any other information relevant for reporting purposes.

Other duties as required

Data Collection

Collect statistical data on clients and enter into the database on a daily basis.

Supervision

Participate in external group supervision on a monthly basis with a clinical supervisor (clinical psychologist).

Non-clinical work issues and overall work performance supervised by the Executive Director.

Education

Continue with ongoing professional development in the provision of counselling services.

Teamwork.

Undertake shared team tasks as required.

Attend monthly counselling team meeting.

Expected Outcomes as a contractual requirement:

Regular reviews of all referrals to FWHC counselling services are undertaken to ensure the clients are receiving the most appropriate and timely service.

Maintenance of FWHC as a centre of excellence in women’s counselling services with programs that are based on community need and current developments in the field of counselling.

Existing FWHC counselling programs are appropriately serviced and new areas and opportunities are developed where there is a clear need.

All client records are kept completely confidential at all times.

All data and reports are completed within the required timeframes.

Essential Selection Criteria for the Position:

Psychology/ Social Work/ Counselling degree or approved equivalent –have eligibility for membership of appropriate professional Peak Body (APS, AASW, PACFA or other relevant).

Ability to work autonomously in dealing with complex presentations and within a multidisciplinary team.

Ability to maintain practice in line with professional standards and current best practice in counselling.

Knowledge of the issues, and experience in counselling women:

with mental health issues

experiencing perinatal mental health issues

experiencing family and domestic violence (FDV) issues

experiencing complex trauma

from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds

who are Indigenous.

Ability to apply knowledge/understanding of relevant theories to the work

Skills in collecting data and preparing written reports within set timeframes.

Sound organisational and record management skills and proficiency with digital database management.

Current National Police Clearance.

Preferred:

Ability to plan and facilitate groups

* Salary includes generous salary packaging and 9.5% superannuation.

* Being female is considered to be a genuine occupational requirement for the position under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 - Section 34. This allows for the exclusive employment of women in women-specific services.